J Korean Med Sci.  2023 Jun;38(23):e180. 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e180.

Effect of Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 Treatment on Blood Culture Contamination: Implication for Optimal PPE Strategies

• Park JH
• Kim TS
• Lee CM
• Kang CK
• Park WB
• Kim NJ
• Choe PG
• Oh Md

• KMID: 2543882
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e180

Abstract

The personal protective equipment (PPE) used to minimize exposure to hazards can hinder healthcare workers from performing sophisticated procedures. We retrospectively reviewed 77,535 blood cultures (202,012 pairs) performed in 28,502 patients from January 2020 to April 2022. The contamination rate of all blood cultures was significantly elevated in the coronavirus disease 2019 ward at 4.68%, compared to intensive care units at 2.56%, emergency rooms at 1.13%, hematology wards at 1.08%, and general wards at 1.07% (All of P < 0.001). This finding implies that wearing PPE might interfere with adherence to the aseptic technique. Therefore, a new PPE policy is needed that considers the balance between protecting healthcare workers and medical practices.

Keyword

Coronavirus Disease 2019; Blood Culture; Personal Protective Equipment

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Six-month moving average blood culture contamination rate according to ward type.COVID-19 = coronavirus disease 2019, ER = emergency room, ICU = intensive care unit.

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